Watching TV while eating impairs language acquisition in children, according to the result of a study conducted by Inserm.

This is explained by the lack of exchanges which is the consequence, according to Jonathan Bernard, one of the researchers who followed a group of 1,500 children from birth to the age of 6 years. 

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We already knew that looking too much at screens was generally not good for children's brain development, and that eating while watching TV made you fat.

We are now discovering that in addition, this practice can have consequences on children's language!

The result of a study carried out by Inserm (National Institute for Health and Medical Research) shows that watching TV while eating would interfere with language acquisition in the youngest.

To reach this conclusion, these researchers followed a group of 1,500 children, from birth to age 6.

Less vocabulary and verbal fluency

For several years, they measured the time of exposure to television during meals and scrutinized the development of the language of these children.

The result: in families who keep the TV on when they sit down to eat, children at the age of 5 have a little less vocabulary and less verbal fluency than children of the same age, who have habit of eating without a screen. 

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"The child's language is acquired through exchange"

One explanation is that a dialogue heard on television is not memorized in the same way as a conversation live at the table with one's family. 

"The child's language is acquired through exchange. He needs to repeat the words, he needs to hear them spoken by someone else, to be picked up on his pronunciation. He needs to 'to learn synonyms, to build its syntax,' explains Jonathan Bernard, co-author of the study.

"And that is done with a feedback that the screen does not necessarily provide. When screens are turned on in the home environment, especially in the background, they tend to reduce the quality and quantity of exchanges between children. parents and children. "

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The idea is not to ban screens, continues this researcher, but to ensure that they do not encroach too much on moments of exchanges.

The advice also applies to tablets and smartphones at the table, because they also tend to reduce the level of conversation.

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